Archive for April 7, 2010

A sixty year old woman I know is considering retiring. She is experiencing a number of physical ailments as a result of her current employment and her physician believes she must stop performing repetitive tasks in order for her condition to improve.

She won’t receive a pension or any other form of compensation once she leaves her job. Her husband is already retired and receives a moderate pension every month. The woman really wants to quit her job, but she is sad to give up her paycheck. Although she lives extremely frugally, she like everyone else, still spends money.

She feels strange asking her husband for money and is considering a monetary arrangement whereby her husband will transfer a small amount of money from their joint account into an account she holds solely in her name.

She asked for my opinion and I had to admit that I wasn’t sure what I would do in this situation. So what do you think? Do you think this arrangement makes sense? If you or your spouse or significant other wasn’t working how would you arrange your finances? Would you consider paying a stipend to the non-working spouse?